Culture

16 People Made Famous by the Internet in 2013

While Miley Cyrus lapped up fame from infamous televised performances this year, others were making a name for themselves on the Internet.

Though not always for positive reasons, viral sensations can happen overnight, whether you intended to be noticed or not. In 2013, we learned that nothing is completely concealable — whether that's a SnapChat or government documents. Put anything online, and it's instantly a contender for the Internet to chew up and spit out. Pop culture continued to merge with web culture, making an audience for potential Internet stars that's stronger and larger than ever.

We also noticed a change in viral culture. Memes and viral stars are born and discovered less organically than previous years. Advertisers, influencers and talk show hosts are using the Internet's powerful pull for different motives. Sometimes that's just a plug. Other times it can create something beautiful, like making a 5-year-old's dreams come true.

16 People Made Famous by the Internet in 2013

1. Kelly Nash

In the year of the selfie, sports reporter Kelly Nash may have won best shot, despite it nearly killing her. The Fox Sun Sports reporter attended an Astros-Red Sox game in April, and decided to document the experience on Instagram, putting her back to Fenway Park. Nash failed to spot the dangerous balls flying past her head during batting practice, catching this year's most unrepeatable photo op.

2. Joanna Rohrback (Prancercise)

Florida native Joanna Rohrback uploaded her workout video in December 2012, not knowing that the Internet would latch on to this equine-inspired exercise the following May. The video, featuring Rohrback's signature horse-like gait (invented in 1989), went from 10,000 to more than 2.7 million views in a week.

Rohrback's video became so popular that even John Mayer had to gallop in on this dance move. The artist invited Rohrback to prance around in "Paper Doll," the first release for his latest album.

3. Marina Shifrin ("I Quit")

The young writer who formerly worked for Taiwanese animation company NMA announced her resignation in September for the whole world to see -- all while dancing around the office to Kanye West's "Gone." Shifrin uploaded the video, which went went viral, and even incited a parody response from the company.

Despite making her former work life a very public affair, Shifrin's plan for new opportunity worked. Queen Latifah flew Shifrin to the U.S. for an interview on her talk show, during which she offered the young viral starlet a job.

4. Batkid

A 5-year-old by the name of Miles warmed the entire Internet's heart with his desire to be Batman for a day. Miles has leukemia, and with the help of Make-a-Wish and the citizens of San Francisco, the boy's wish was realized in an elaborate set of stunts this past November.

An estimated 20,000 people participated offline in Miles' wish, whether that was in planning the stunts, or simply cheering him on. Meanwhile, the Internet was the real hero Batkid deserved, spreading his adorable message across all platforms.

Image: Ramin Talaie/Getty Images

5. Caitlin Heller (Twerk Girl)

Though Miley Cyrus might have carried the twerk torch in 2013, stuntwoman Caitlin Heller helped ignite the flame by setting herself on fire in a staged fail video. The stunt features Heller acting as an unsuspecting girl making a sexy video for her boyfriend.

But the real surprise was not Heller's crash onto the glass table -- it was from Jimmy Kimmel, who hired her for the stunt in June. The video blew up organically in September, and Heller was told by Kimmel and his team to keep quiet about the stunt until its big reveal on his show.

6. Rob Ford

Toronto's mayor has had such a whirlwind of a year, it's hard to know where (and when) to start. After a video that shows Ford smoking crack surfaced in May, Gawker editor-in-chief John Cook took to Indiegogo to raise over $200,000 to bankroll the purchase of said clip. Videos of Ford admitting to previously using the drug swirled the web, as well as one of him describing his NSFW eating habits.

Ford's roller-coaster story was fueled by social media, including all kinds of parody. Following the first rumored video, he received allegations throughout the year of drunk driving, bullying, consorting with criminals, prostitution and other drug use. He has since apologized for his "graphic remarks" and said he's now receiving professional help.

Image: GEOFF ROBINS/AFP/Getty Images

7. Chris Hadfield

Canada's first commander of the International Space Station joined the team of astronauts in December 2012, but he kept the Internet frothing at the mouth over space by maintaining a very active social media presence while he orbited 230 miles above earth until May. One particularly viral moment for Hadfield was his revised version of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" from the ISS.

8. Harry Hudson

Musician Harry Hudson's life changed drastically this summer when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer originating from white blood cells. The musician put his life on hold while completing six months of chemotherapy.

Hudson documented his fight with cancer through Instagram and Twitter, finding himself with an online support group of more than 200,000 followers.

9. Chris Stark (BBC's Awkward Reporter)

Not everyone finds viral fame smoothly, which is exactly how Chris Stark went from an awkward reporter to successfully crafting an unconventional interview technique. (Oh, and meeting celebrities.)

Stark may not be a Pulitzer-worthy journalist, but his painful interview with Mila Kunis in May was one of the funniest exchanges we saw in the news all year. After going viral, BBC gave the reporter another shot in August, this time with Jennifer Aniston.

10. Justine Sacco

We've seen a lot of unfortunate tweets over the years, but Justine Sacco's poor excuse for a joke was probably the most cringe-inducing of 2013.

The former head of PR for InterActive Corp -- which owns the Daily Beast, Vimeo, About.com, Match.com and Ask.com, among others -- sent an offensive tweet in December, right before hopping on an 11-hour flight from London to South Africa. While Sacco's employers waited for an explanation, the rest of the web lit up with backlash. Sacco may have deleted her account, but that didn't stop IAC from firing her.

11. Ylvis

For years, we've wondered what exactly does a fox say, but it wasn't until September that we figured it out. This bizarre video by Norwegian duo Bård Ylvisåker and Vegard Ylvisåker, known collectively as Ylvis, was this year's music video that spawned a never-ending supply of parody -- even Morgan Freeman wanted to know what the fox says. One might even say that foxes joined the ranks of adorable animal species, like sloths and cats.

12. Blake Wilson (BatDad)

By day, he's a Georgia father of four. In what seemed overnight, Wilson became better acquainted to the Internet as BatDad, a Vine star who taught everyone how to have better table manners at the very least. In his best husky Christian Bale-esque voice, BatDad rescued web users from boredom by bonding with his children and providing fatherly advice.

13. Elan Gale (And Diane From 7A)

Elan Gale managed to earn his Internet fame on one of the traditionally slowest days for online traffic: Thanksgiving. What started as a live-tweeted argument between Gale and a disgruntled female passenger on his flight turned into a lesson on numerous topics, such as sexism, customer service and viral journalism.

Though he was unaware of the consequences at the time, Gale eventually admitted that Diane, the unhappy passenger in seat 7A, was not real. The entire exchange was just Gale's way of entertaining himself while bored at the airport.

14. Edward Snowden

Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor, admitted in June to leaking secret government documents about the agency's top-secret PRISM surveillance program. With the support of WikiLeaks, the 29-year-old holed up in Hong Kong during the initial leak, until July, when he sought temporary asylum in Russia -- one of the only places that approved his application for request.

Snowden's leaks led to a global conversation on surveillance in a technological society, often in regards to security and individuals' rights to privacy. In December, a U.S. federal judge ruled NSA's records to be likely unconstitutional. Snowden is currently still in Russia, and a wanted man in the U.S.

Image: AFPTV/AFP/Getty Images

15. Jacob Bakkila (Horse_ebooks)

The Internet's favorite equine spammer Horse_ebooks left users in wonder for years with its cryptic fragments of text. But the account was revealed in September to be a large performance art piece from the collaborative minds of Jacob Bakkila and Thomas Bender.

The experiment had been in effect since 2011, though the Horse_ebooks account dates further back. Bakilla obtained the account from a Russian man named Alexei Kouznetsov, who had run it since August 2010. The highly-retweeted account shared a phone number that users immediately called, only to discover the end of an era, and the beginning of a choose-your-own-adventure interactive-video piece.

16. Pretty Much Everyone on Vine

Jerome Jarre, Nicholas Megalis, Meagan Cignoli, Marcus Johns, Marlo Meekins. All of these superstars (and more like them) found their six seconds of fame on a platform that started as a form of entertainment and quickly developed into careers.

Those who hopped on Vine's success train early found themselves working with brands on advertisements, appearing on talk shows and landing comedy writing gigs.

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